The Battle for WondLa

by Tony DiTerlizzi

  He’s a clone. Eva understood at last. Thunder rumbled outside in the hologram. She glanced out the window but saw a cloudless azure sky.

  “This life. This family’s love and support is what I wanted to create for my people.” With effort Cadmus rose and walked around the hologram. In the bright light Eva could now see his bloodstained robes.

  “You build the darnedest things, Cadmus A. Pryde,” Mrs. Pryde said, marveling at one of the robot drawings. “I bet one day you’ll be a great inventor like your dad.”

  “You did recreate this perfect life, Father.” Carefully Gen embraced Cadmus. “For me and all of your children to enjoy.”

  “No.” Eva shook her head. Cadmus’s holographic past was so fully rendered, so tangible, that it was hard for her to dismiss what she was seeing. “This world. It doesn’t exist anymore. It’s gone.”

  “I have brought it back,” Cadmus said, his voice rising with pride. “The feeling of love, security, and harmony are here for all to enjoy—just as it once was. Just as it should be.”

  “It may have worked once, right here, but it fails beyond the walls of your city.”

  “You are wrong!” Cadmus now spoke with conviction. “This world will rise again. I will see it built anew!”

  Eva fired the boomrod at the holo-projector. It blew apart in a shower of sparks and shattered holo-bulbs. The emergency lights in the room activated, bathing all in a bright white light. Eva recognized the cold gray walls, just like those of her old Sanctuary home. “This. This is reality,” said Eva, pointing to the skulls that lined the shelves. “Clones. Countless clones waiting for that time to come. But it never will.” Eva pushed away her mental vision of the WondLa. That picture. Those smiling faces. “I know, because more than anything, I wish that my Muthr could come back. I miss my days with her. But I evolved. I found the real world, Orbona. The truth is, that world that you long for in the past was also a dying world.”

  Cadmus blinked bleary eyes. “But it is dead no more. It has come back, and we must seize our moment. We are wiser from our mistakes, and Earth is ready to hold mankind to her bosom once more.” Clearly weakened from his wound, he sat back down in his chair.

  “You are wrong,” said Eva. “It came back because the Ojo family brought life back to it. The planet was dead when they arrived. The Human Repopulation Project would have never succeeded if it weren’t for them.”

  “You’re talking about the generator, aren’t you? You know where it is!” Even in his weakened state, there was fire in Cadmus’s eyes.

  “It doesn’t matter. The virus that creates life is spreading. Soon the entire planet will be habitable again,” said Eva. “But you will not live to see it . . . if you do not act now. Loroc has tricked you. He has taken control of your fleet and is destroying everything.”

  “Nonsense!” Cadmus slammed his hands on the arms of the chair. “The crash on Attican Hall was a tragic navigational malfunction. But it was not done by nefarious means. The city’s power grid is down at the moment, but my team of—”

  “No, Father. Eva is right,” Gen said. She knelt down on the floor next to his chair. “There are big robots on three legs attacking our people . . . your children. I saw them.”

  “What?” Cadmus appeared confused.

  “Look. See for yourself.” Gen replayed the recording of the invasion on her Omnipod.

  Cadmus’s expression changed from confusion to horror. “No! Those are my—”

  “Warbots,” said Eva. “Gunning down all of your people.”

  Cadmus snatched his Omnipod. “Twenty-three?”

  Projected from the Omnipod, a full-size hologram of the Muthr appeared in the room. “Yes?”

  “Divert reserve generator power to all Attican security cameras and display,” he said.

  “As you wish.”

  A swirl of screens materialized in the room, rotating like a school of fish around Cadmus. As each one passed in front of Eva, she saw the same scene: warbots firing SHOCdarts and electrocuting citizens against a fiery backdrop.

  Cadmus gasped. “Twenty-three, are you dealing with this? Shut down all warbot systems immediately!”

  “I’m sorry, sir. That order contradicts my revised initiative,” Twenty-three replied in her calm tone.

  “Revised initiative? Your orders come from me.” The creases in Cadmus’s face deepened with his concern.

  “That is correct, sir. However, the Prime Adviser is our controller. His word supersedes yours,” said the robot.

  “This cannot happen!” Cadmus opened a program on his Omnipod. A pyramid comprised of faces and names hovered over the Omnipod’s central eye. Cadmus zoomed in on the apex and spun it about as if searching for something. “It is impossible. I’ve been entirely removed from the chain of command.”

  “What does that mean?” Gen asked.

  Cadmus shushed her. “Omnipod, open HRP Metropolis zero-one hierarchal command. Username is ‘Cadmus zero-one.’ Password is ‘omniscient.’ ”

  “I’m sorry, sir. That username and password are no longer valid,” the Omnipod replied.

  “It’s impossible.” Cadmus stared at the Omnipod in his shaking hand. “Even the original override doesn’t work.”

  “Everything is as it should be,” said Twenty-three. “It is as the Prime Adviser has ordered.”

  “No! No! NO!” Cadmus shouted. He stood and paced the room, leaving droplets of blood on the rubber floor.

  “What else has he ordered?” Eva asked Twenty-three. She watched as one of the screens from the security camera drifted by. On it Hailey and his crew hurried survivors onto his ship.

  “All of Cadmus’s offspring are to be terminated. Attican citizens are to be gathered for eradication. New Attica is to be eliminated except for Cadmus. He must remain contained in Sanctuary zero-one during extermination of his species. Afterward he will be transported to Solas for reprogramming.” Twenty-three expanded the security screens so that they filled the room with images of the destruction of New Attica.

  Cadmus’s eyes were wide with rage. He ran his fingers through his long hair. “This cannot be! My programs are foolproof. There is no way Loroc could have gained access and reprogrammed them.” Somewhere outside, explosions rocked the Sanctuary.

  “We have to get out of here, fast!” Eva looked up at the walls, waiting for them to collapse. “We don’t have much time.”

  “Father.” Gen took Cadmus by the hand. “Do you know the way out of here?”

  “Yes. Of course.” Cadmus snapped out of his mania for a moment. “Right here. Follow me.” He limped over to a doorway that led into an empty supply room. Reaching the back wall, Cadmus placed a hand on the panel. Nothing happened.

  “I am sorry, sir.” The hologram of Twenty-three followed them into the supply room. “You are not permitted to exit the premises. As ordered, you are to remain here until eradication of the city is complete.”

  “Eva, blow open the hatch like you did before!” Gen said.

  “These walls are reinforced ply-steel. I don’t think even the sonic capabilities of this alien tech will accomplish that,” Cadmus said. “All other access ports into the Sanctuary are likely locked down. There has to be another way.” He coughed and gritted his teeth. Eva noticed he was gripping the ride side of his waist.

  “Are you okay, Father?” Gen examined the blood on his robes. “Twenty-three said you refused medical help.”

  “I’m fine for now. I think it is a small piece of shrapnel from the crash. I ordered my automedics to tend to the severely wounded first and then come see me,” Cadmus whispered.

  Eva frowned. “I don’t think that’s going to happen. Don’t your clothes have Anatoscan and SpeedHeal ointment?”

  “No.” Cadmus wiped beads of sweat from his forehead. “Why would I need that in a peaceful place like this?”

  “I’m getting a call,” said Gen. “Eva, it’s Hailey.” She held out her palm to Eva. Hailey’s face floated above it.

  “Y
ou guys okay? I’m dropping off the survivors now at our camp. I can come back and get you, but it has to be quick.” Hailey looked distraught, even scared. “It’s bad down there.”

  “Okay,” said Eva. “We’ll contact you in a nano.” She turned to Cadmus. “Is this Sanctuary similar to the one you built for me?”

  “Yes, albeit it houses significantly more tech for my—”

  Eva cut him off. “Does it have an exhaust vent in the kitchen?”

  “It does!” Cadmus led the way, with Gen supporting him.

  Eva charged the boomrod and blew open the intake grill that covered the exhaust vent.

  “This will take you up to the ground level, near the edge of the park,” Cadmus said. He held Gen’s hand as she climbed up onto the stove. A light began to ping on his Omnipod. “Oh dear.” He dashed over and locked the kitchen door. “We are being tracked. They are sending in the authoritons. You best hurry.”

  “You go next,” Eva said to him as she charged the boomrod. “I’ll cover you.”

  “I am not leaving,” Cadmus said in a grave tone.

  “What?”

  “Why?” asked Gen.

  “I will only slow you down. Besides, it is clear to me now that I am simply an antiquated program running on antiquated rules.”

  “Father, don’t do this! Come with us!” Gen climbed back down and threw her arms around him. New tears marred her already ruined makeup.

  Cadmus kissed her forehead. “I have loved you most out of all of my children. And I want you to survive.”

  Eva swallowed hard. She tugged at Gen’s shoulder.

  Out in the Sanctuary the walls rumbled. The authoritons had breached the doors.

  “We have to go,” Eva said.

  Gen climbed back up into the shaft.

  Cadmus reached in and handed Gen his Omnipod. “Take this. Despite our shortcomings, there are many great things that humanity accomplished. Our heritage and our history must not be lost.”

  Gen took the Omnipod. She mouthed, “I love you, Daddy.”

  Eva hopped up onto the stove. She grabbed hold of the rung inside the exhaust vent.

  “Blow the shaft once you get clear of here, so they can’t follow you up. Understand?” said Cadmus.

  “I understand.” Eva tried to remain calm. She’d escaped like this before, but that had been a different place. A different time. “This is not how I wanted it to end.”

  “Nor I.” Cadmus smiled, though it was clear he was deep in thought. “After every ending comes a new beginning. That beginning is both of you—my daughters.”

  A loud clang hit the kitchen door, followed by the grinding sound of blades cutting the ply-steel.

  “Go,” he said. “Go far from this place and begin anew.”

  Eva nodded at Cadmus, then began her ascent. With Eva pushing Gen, they climbed up the rungs inside the vent as fast as they could. Halfway up, Eva stopped and pointed the boomrod back down toward Sanctuary zero-one. With a full charge she fired the weapon. It emitted a loud BOOM. The shaft buckled and caved in below, sending a wave of dust and ash upward. With a cry Gen slipped from the rungs and tumbled down onto Eva. Bracing herself, Eva caught Gen and helped her grip the rungs. She whispered words of comfort into Gen’s ear. Words her own Muthr had once spoken to her.

  CHAPTER 20: EXTINCTION

  The girls reached the ground level and wriggled out of an exhaust vent near the edge of the park. Around them the blown-out windows of the storefronts watched them like the hollow eyes of gigantic tragic masks. Eva grabbed Gen’s hand, and together they scurried through the gloom toward the cover of a large oak tree.

  “I need you to call Hailey,” said Eva. “Tell him he needs to get here now!” She charged the boomrod and peered around the trunk of the tree out into the expanse of the park. A wave of warbots strode through the smoking landscape. Their black armor glistened in the falling rain while the lights in their eyes glowed a ghastly green. Some robots fired, electrocuting those who tried to flee, while others sprayed out streams of molten plasma, incinerating everything in their path. Eva could hear the hiss of the rain as it met with the fire of burning buildings. The flames seemed to be everywhere in the city at once. The harsh heavy smoke that hung in the air choked anything that breathed.

  Gen’s voice was shaky. “Hailey . . . he—he says he’ll b-be here soon. We have to m-meet him at the aviary.”

  “Okay. Let’s go—” Eva started.

  From a hovering warship a warbot dropped down directly in front of the girls.

  “Get behind me,” Eva shouted. She fired the boomrod at the warbot’s legs, toppling it. As it fell to the ground, it sent a swarm of SHOCdarts out in all directions. Eva shoved Gen out of the way, and they both fell behind the trunk of the oak tree. They cowered as a volley of SHOCdarts thwacked against the trunk.

  The commotion caught the attention of two other warbots burning buildings on the perimeter road surrounding the park. They turned off their flamethrowers and turned toward Eva and Gen. On the rooftops of the buildings one level above them more warbots landed.

  “What do we do? Do we run?” asked Gen.

  “We won’t make it.” Eva shouted over the sound of the warbots as she charged the boomrod to maximum. She fired on the supports that held the second-level buildings, which crumbled and gave way in a fiery explosion. Warbots and rubble from the second level tumbled down onto the two warbots below.

  “Let’s go!” Eva shouted.

  The girls bolted across the park toward the aviary. Behind them one of the warbots rose from the rubble and gave chase. Eva heard the stamp of its three feet as it rushed toward them. She charged the boomrod again.

  “Keep running!” Eva yelled, and turned to fire. WOOM! Her shot connected head-on with the warbot, and the robot exploded in a ball of fire. The blast threw Eva backward into a large muddy puddle.

  With ears ringing, Eva clawed her way out of the thick mud. On hands and knees she crawled to the nearest tree and sat with her back against the trunk. Her eyes tried to focus, but her brain just couldn’t seem to make them do what she wanted.

  She exhaled and tried to rub the mud away from her face. All around her Cadmus’s warbots marched through the burning city, destroying everything he had built. Her nose filled with the caustic smell of melting plastic.

  “I’m so tired of running. Hailey better let me sleep on the ship,” Eva whispered, though she could barely hear her own voice above the din and the ringing. She pulled the boomrod from the mud by yanking on the cord that attached it to the charger. She scraped off the caked mud from the levered trigger and laid the weapon across her lap. A familiar squawk broke through the haze in Eva’s mind. Alongside her a large round gray bird playfully snapped at her sleeve with a hooked beak.

  Eva laughed despite her situation. “Dodo? What are you doing out here?” She stroked the yellow plumage that sprung from the bird’s head. “You should be in your aviary. It’s safer there.” Eva heard a jingling sound, like a little wind chime. She scanned the park and spotted the nearby Attican Aviary, where Gen was hiding in the shadow of the entrance. Gen was waving Eva over with the palm-light of her Omnipod, causing her dangling bracelets to jangle.

  “Come on.” Eva tried to pick up the bird. “I’ll help you.” The dodo squawked loudly and scurried toward the aviary. Eva scanned the distance between her and the aviary entrance. There seemed to be no warbots in the immediate vicinity. Eva dashed behind the bird and joined Gen.

  It was clear that the warbots had already marched through here. The domed roof of the aviary had been reduced to little more than shattered chunks of glass. This had allowed the flocks of birds housed within to fly away and escape. Inside, the girls crept through the dense foliage, looking for a place to hide.

  Eva knelt down at the edge of the duck pond and pulled off her poncho. Her long white hair fell around her shoulders and dirty face.

  “Are you okay?” Gen asked, breathless.

  “Yeah. I’ll be all
right.” Eva placed her hands in the water and splashed her face. “Just a little beat-up is all.” She knelt closer to the pond’s surface and scooped water over her bare neck. My necklace. . . . It’s missing! She looked around frantically before finding the locket Soth had given her, lying at the shore of the pool. The clasp must have come loose, and it slipped off. She wiped it dry and placed it back over her head. Somewhere hidden in the brush Eva heard the dodo again. “If it hadn’t been for that bird, I don’t know if I would have snapped out of the daze I was in.”

  “I’m just glad you found me.” Gen looked like a frightened owl with her wide eyes darting about.

  “Why don’t you call Hailey and tell him we’re here.”

  Gen nodded and scooted under the branches of a large willow.

  Eva closed her eyes for a moment. She could feel herself coming back into focus. Her goal of escaping New Attica became clear in her mind once again. Around her neck she felt a jiggling sensation. She looked down; the locket was still dripping with water. In the smoky light Eva examined the glass vial that hung from the braided chain around her neck. Inside the vial something was wriggling. The glass vial cracked open. Out crawled an orchidlike creature on four segmented legs. It scuttled over Eva’s palm and onto the back of her hand.

  “The flower Eight gave me is . . . alive?” Eva blinked in astonishment. “It must carry the Vitae Virus.”

  The orchid creature chirped and crawled up Eva’s arm like an exotic insect. Carefully she placed it on the ground. It proceeded to lick its four feet clean, then continued crawling along the shore. Everywhere the orchid creature stepped, moss and greenery sprouted in its wake. It chirped once more and disappeared in the undergrowth. From there, ferns uncoiled, reeds quivered and stretched, and an unseen bird began to sing. As this phenomenon unfolded right in front of Eva’s eyes, she momentarily forgot about the burning buildings, explosions, and screams beyond. “And so one society flourishes as another perishes.”

  “Eva, come here,” said Gen from under the curtain of the willow tree. Fear rushed her words. “Hailey said he can’t come. . . . He can’t come! He’s not going to rescue us. We’re trapped!” She crawled close to Eva on hands and knees. “He says that ships are searching the perimeter of the city. Everybody is hiding at the Toiler’s camp.”